


That Warm Feeling

by writerlester



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Egobang - Freeform, Fluff, M/M, Realizing Feelings, also it's cheesy, first confessions, mostly feel good fluff, really happy and domestic, slight sexuality crisis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-01
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-27 14:58:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10026926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerlester/pseuds/writerlester
Summary: A reoccurring warm feeling keeps showing up in Danny's life. He doesn't think much of it until he realizes the reason for this feeling--Arin Hanson.





	

It started as a feeling that would spread through him during the seemingly random times throughout the week.

Danny had walked into the Grump Space to be met with the sight of Ross and Barry laughing their asses off as Arin proudly strutted around with a pink tutu around his waist.

He started to laugh along with his friends, his face going red at the sight of Arin’s goofy grin. The artist turned and saw Danny standing in the doorway, immediately wiggling his butt in Danny’s direction. “Hey, Dan. You’re just in time.”

“You’re so ridiculous,” Danny giggled fondly, rolling his eyes and dropping his stuff in the beanbag next to him.

Arin flipped his hair triumphantly, sending Barry and Ross into a new set of laughs. Ross slapped Arin’s ass as he walked past, and Arin let out a small yelp and the four men practically howled with laughter.

A warm feeling was spreading throughout Danny’s body, leaving him with an afterglow of pure, unadulterated joy in his heart. This feeling had come back several times lately, especially when he was in the Grump Space. He didn’t think much of it, just assuming he was enjoying his time with his friends.

 

~~~

 

The next time was during a Grump session, and Arin was frowning at the game. Danny was snuggled underneath a blanket, a smile on his face as Arin grumbled over the directions. 

“Shit, dude, does this make any sense to you? Because I’m at a loss.”

“Nah, man, it’s screwy,” Danny responded, not even looking at the game, keeping his eyes on Arin’s expressions. He liked seeing Arin’s face shift into the funniest expressions, from confused to irritated to angry to just tired.

Then Danny would say something, and Arin’s mouth would twitch, his brown eyes lighting up as he fed off of Danny’s joke, occasionally letting out a chortle.

The best was when Arin did voice acting; his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, his face screwing up in concentration, his lips pursed just right as a completely different person’s voice flowed from his mouth.

Danny could watch him do that for hours. How concentrated he’d get, how amazing the acting was, how his eyes would twinkle and his lips would twitch…

That new, warm feeling came back as Arin got frustrated with the game, and Danny stopped even responding, too busy watching his friend’s facial expressions. The warmth spread through his chest, making his fingers curl and his cheeks heat up. He knew he was staring, but honestly, he didn’t care and it wouldn’t be the first time.

Danny pondered a little when he felt that joyful feeling possess him, warming his body and leaving him with a feeling of peace. He snuggled into the couch, letting his feet bump against Arin’s thighs and wriggled closer to his friend.

Arin didn’t even react to his movements, throwing out a comment about the weird storyline and joking about a character. He shifted slightly to let Danny cuddle into his shoulder more comfortably.

As the warm feeling washed over him, Danny smiled sleepily. He wouldn’t think about the feeling just now, instead deciding to enjoy the feeling of being content with his best friend.

 

~~~

 

The next time was a beautiful day after doing a Game Grumps live. He’d had a rather busy day, so he was relaxing outside in the fading sunshine, watching the sunset. Arin was still inside finishing the goodbyes and thanks with everyone who’d shown up or helped.

He was feeling a bit sleepy when he heard footsteps behind him and an affectionate, “You alright, buddy?”

Danny turned to grin lazily at Arin as he crouched beside him. “Hey, Big Cat. Yeah, just kinda tired. It’s been a long day.”

“I feel that, man. I’ll drive you back to the Space so you can grab your car.”

“Thanks.”

Arin started to get up, presumably to get his car, but Danny frowned and tugged on the younger man’s shirt to force him to sit back down. “Sit with me for a minute. I haven’t been able to talk to you properly all day.”

His friend chuckled and sat again, next to Danny. “True. The sunset looks pretty, too.”

Danny subconsciously leaned against Arin’s broad shoulder, letting himself relax wholly for the first time all day. “You’re really warm.”

He could feel Arin’s laugh vibrate through his body from where he was leaning against him. “It’s so hot up on stage, dude. I was like a ball of sweat.”

Danny stared at the pink and yellow streaks across the sky, his breathing evening out as his eyes started to close. Arin was soft and warm, and Danny always felt safe with him.

He was vaguely aware of Arin lightly rubbing his arm, absently tracing patterns into Danny’s skin. It felt comfortable and familiar. 

That’s when the feeling started as a glow in his chest, heating up from where his shoulder touched Arin’s and where Arin’s hand touched his arm. It spread quickly, his mouth curling into a smile. Maybe he should think about this new feeling rushing through him, but he was too happy and too comfy to think about it right now.

 

~~~

 

He’ll never forget that day for as long as he lived.

They were all at the Grump Space: Arin, Suzy, Barry, Ross, Matt, Ryan, Vernon, Brian, and him. Holly had stopped by to see Ross, and they were all lounging around, talking and laughing.

He was sitting beside Arin, chuckling at something Barry had said, when he felt Arin shift and his eyes lit up. Danny prepared for Arin’s witty comment, smiling fondly as he leaned back.

Arin said his joke and Danny was the first to laugh, closely followed by everyone else. He allowed himself to watch Arin’s face as he continued to build on his joke, how his eyes gleamed and his mouth stretched wide and his tongue poked out just a little when he giggled.

His heart felt like it’d burst with affection and suddenly he stilled, his face going pale as realization washed over him.

Ross nudged him. “What’s up with you? You went quiet.”

Danny forced a smile and got up, carefully avoiding touching Arin’s leg. “Yeah, I just...gotta take a shit. Be right back.”

He practically fled to the bathroom, locking the door and gripping the sides of the sink. He could hear the laughter emanating from the other room, but he was a little preoccupied.

Danny stared at himself in the mirror. “I’m in love with my best friend.”

He allowed a few moments to process this statement, staring at his own conflicted face in his reflection. His eyes stared back at him. He expected confusion, worry, fear...but his eyes only held warmth.

Somehow, this relaxed him, and he released his grip on the sink. Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed deeply and repeated the statement: “I’m in love with my best friend.”

All the memories of the warm feeling came back to him, which had started since he met Arin but hadn’t overwhelmed him until recently.

He set his gaze on himself, biting his lip and saying softly, “I’m in love with Arin.”

He was startled by a knock on the door, jumping nearly a foot into the air. Arin’s voice floated through the door: “Dude, you in there? Are you okay? How’s your dump going?”

Danny snorted before he could realize it, and steadied himself before responding. “Just gimme a minute, man. I’ll be out soon.”

He heard his friend shuffling away from the door, and he tried to think about how to go about this. He’d never had feelings for a man before. Was he bisexual? Hell if he knew. Maybe he was just Arin-sexual.

But it wasn’t like he just wanted to sleep with him. He wanted to snuggle with him in the early hours of the morning, he wanted to curl his fingers through Arin’s when they walked, he wanted to pull Arin’s soft hair through his fingers, he wanted to smile and remind Arin every day how funny and unique and beautiful he was.

He took a deep breath. Okay. So what should he do about this? Should he tell him? Should he wait to see what happens? Should he try to shove it down and hope it goes away? He grimaced. Even to himself that idea sounded stupid. 

Danny knew what he had to do.

 

~~~

 

It was a quiet evening.

They’d been recording for a few hours and the older man was a bundle of nerves the entire time. Arin had noticed, obviously, because Danny kept squirming and biting his lip and would jump every time their legs brushed or Arin would laugh loudly.

Arin’s eyes kept flickering over to Danny, concerned, but Danny determinedly spoke about the game and refused to let the conversation lull so his friend could bring up the singer’s preoccupation. 

Danny was also facing another huge hurdle: now that he knew of his feelings for the other man, everything Arin did was mesmerizing. Every time Arin laughed or licked his lips, Danny would force his gaze to stay on the screen. Every time Arin shifted on the couch, Danny was hyperaware of how close he was. Every time Arin would say his name, in that deep, lilting voice, it was  _ torture.  _

Danny was a goner.

Finally, however, Arin switched off the recorder and timer, scribbling down the times in his shitty handwriting. The musician’s eyes traced over the back of Arin’s hand, watching the sloppy writing with a smile of endearment.

Good God, he was a mess.

Arin turned to face him with a determined glint in his eyes, and Danny knew there was no wriggling out of this. His friend knew something was wrong and wanted to know what it was. Arin would never pressure him into telling, but Danny could never lie to him, and he knew this would have to come out sooner or later.

He tried to steel his nerves. “What’s up, buddy?”

“I should be the one asking that,” Arin replied ruefully, settling into the couch. His knee bumped Danny’s and he felt his face start to heat up shamefully. “You’ve been acting weird all night, man. It something bothering you?”

_ I’m just tired. _ It was on the tip of Danny’s tongue. It was true--he  _ was _ tired. Tired of sitting there day after day, wanting nothing more than to kiss Arin’s face and shower him in compliments and snuggle up with him until they were asleep.

But he knew that wouldn’t work. He needed to be honest. Even if Arin just brushed it off, even if things were uncomfortable for awhile, he could live with it. He knew nothing would ever scare Arin away from him, and that included... _ this.  _ He’d just have to suck it up and sit on these feelings. For his and Arin’s sake.

“I, uh...I need to tell you something.” His voice sounded small.

Arin blinked, eyebrows furrowing as he leaned his face against one hand. “Sure, Dan. You can talk to me, you know that.”

“I...think I might be...bisexual,” Danny whispered, trying to ease into it. Surprisingly, even though he was whispering, it wasn’t hard to say those words. He supposed it was because he was talking to Arin. He could tell Arin anything without fear.

Arin’s eyebrow quirked slightly, but he smiled. “I’m glad you told me, Dan. I’m proud of you. I think it’s--”

“I’m not done,” Danny interrupted, swallowing. His next few sentences came out jumbled and rushed. “I’ve never liked guys before, I’ve always liked girls, but then  _ you  _ came along, you with your silky hair and beautiful arms and gorgeous lips and wonderful laugh and goofy smile and your ability to make me laugh at anytime…”

Arin’s face looked puzzled, but his mouth was twitching. Danny pressed on, finally letting the words spill from his mouth.

“And the way you always know what I’m thinking, and you support me at everything, God, you help me no matter what, you care about me, you’re the most genuine person I’ve ever met...you love everyone and spread so much joy, you’ve made me so happy and you don’t even  _ realize _ it! And then I look at you and you are just so  _ perfect, _ so cute, so amazing and I just want to hold you and squeeze you and love you, but I was scared because you’re the first guy I’ve ever had feelings for, and I just...I just want you to be mine.”

He was breathing heavily after his outburst, staring directly at Arin. The younger man, for the first time in his life, seemed to be rendered speechless. His mouth moved slightly, and he licked his lips. He blinked slowly, seemingly unable to process all this information.

Danny’s heart was thumping in his chest, and he stumbled on: “You--I know you don’t feel the same way, I, uh...I understand if it’s a little awkward for you…” His heart felt like shriveling up and disappearing. “But...I’ll just...put the feelings aside until, until I can do something about them...I just wanted to tell you because I thought you had a right to know.”

Arin finally moved, taking hold of Danny’s hand. The musician stared at the intertwined fingers, feeling tears prick at his eyes. He instinctively tightened his hold on Arin’s hand. That’s all he wanted. He just wanted to do this without worry.

“Danny.” Arin’s voice was so soft and warm Danny could feel the tears threatening to overflow. “You’re an idiot sometimes, y’know?”

He looked up to meet the animator’s warm eyes, and he swallowed. “Why’s that?”

“Did you really think I don’t love you too? Selfish bastard. Why do you think I always want to make you laugh? Why do you think I flirt with you all the time? Why do you think I want to help you and be with you and always support you?”

Danny’s chest was filling with that warm feeling again, only this time it threatened to burst out of his chest. “Arin.”

“I love you.” Arin moved closer, his own eyes looking less than dry. “I always have. I just...I thought you were straight, so I didn’t want to push it…but, ever since I laid eyes on you, I loved you.”

Danny couldn’t handle it anymore. He lunged forward, tackling Arin back against the sofa, blubbered laughter and tears coming from him. He didn’t care, though.  _ He didn’t care. _

He was pressing kisses anywhere he could reach, Arin’s cheeks, nose, forehead, chin, neck, mouth. He reveled in the fact that he could  _ do _ this, and Arin was just giggling beneath him. Eventually he rested his face against Arin’s shoulder, squeezing him tightly.

“Are you okay, Danny?” The animator’s hand was lightly stroking his back. Danny hummed.

“Yeah. You make me okay.”

“That was cheesy as shit.”

“Shut up. I’m in love with you. I’m allowed to be cheesy.”

He felt Arin’s laugh underneath him and let himself grin like an idiot, because he was so happy. 

He loved Arin. Arin loved  _ him. _

That warm feeling came back, but it felt different somehow. More bubbly and happy than before, with none of the nerves mixed in. It overwhelmed him quickly, and he sighed into Arin’s shoulder.

Danny was never letting go of this man--or the feelings he brought with him--ever again.

**Author's Note:**

> So this happened. I hope you liked it, because despite what you may think, I worked on this for quite some time. It's really hard for me to write physical fluff between two real people, but I managed with this because the Grumps are okay with Egobang. Also, Suzy isn't married to Arin in this. I just can't write pairings that are married. So to ease my hesitation, in this slight AU, they aren't married, just good friends.
> 
> I hope y'all enjoyed! It's sappy and sweet, but hey, we all need some good fluff sometimes.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


End file.
